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Fiscal Year: FY 2007  Task Last Updated:  01/31/2008 
PI Name: Oman, Charles M. 
Project Title: Visual Orientation, Navigation, and Spatial Memory Countermeasures 
   
Division Name: Human Research 
Program/Discipline: NSBRI Teams 
Element/Subdiscipline: Sensorimotor Adaptation Team 
Joint Agency Name:  
Human Research Program Elements: None
Human Research Program Risks:: None
Human Research Program Gaps: None
PI Email: coman@mit.edu  Fax:  617-258-8111 
PI Organization Type: UNIVERSITY  Phone: 617-253-7508  
Organization Name: Massachusetts Institute of Technology 
PI Address 1: Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics 
PI Address 2: 77 Massachusetts Avenue 
PI Web Page:  
City: Cambridge  State: MA 
Zip Code: 02139-4301  Congressional District:  8 
Comments:  
Project Type: GROUND  Solicitation:  2003 Biomedical Research & Countermeasures 03-OBPR-04 
Start Date: 03/01/2004  End Date:  09/30/2007 
No. of Post Docs: 3  No. of PhD Degrees:  0 
No. of PhD Candidates: 1  No. of Master' Degrees:  3 
No. of Master's Candidates: 3  No. of Bachelor's Degrees:  2 
No. of Bachelor's Candidates: 2  Monitoring Center:  NSBRI 
Contact Monitor:   Contact Phone:   
Contact Email:  
Flight Program:  
Flight Assignment:

 

Key Personnel Changes/Previous PI:  
COI Name (Institution): Harris, Laurence  ( York University )
Liu, Andrew  ( Massachusetts Institute of Technology )
Jenkin, Michael  ( York University )
Aoki, Hirofumi  ( Massachusetts Institute of Technology ) 
Grant/Contract No.: NCC 9-58-NA00402 
Performance Goal No.:  
Performance Goal Text:

 

Task Description: How should spacecraft designers configure interior architectural features, work areas, and the relative orientations of adjacent or docked spacecraft modules to minimize spatial disorientation problems in 0-g ? Current NASA standards offer little guidance. Can virtual reality (VR) training techniques – which astronauts currently use to plan their spacewalks - also be used to reduce the incidence of visual reorientation and inversion illusions while working inside the spacecraft? Is a fully immersive VR system needed for such training, or could simpler, portable training systems be used? Can individual performance on operationally relevant 3D orientation, navigation, and teleoperation tasks be predicted based on simple tests of individual mental rotation and perspective taking skills? What is the best way to assess and control the direction of the perceptual vertical in an environment where there is no gravitational “down”? Can head movement contingent instability of the perceived visual world (“oscillopsia”), experienced by most returning astronauts, be quantified using visual feedback techniques? Answers can be directly applied to the design of the NASA CEV, Lunar Surface Access Module and eventually the Mars Transfer Hab interiors, to the physical arrangement of ground simulators and to the development of VR based techniques for preflight orientation and navigation training for astronauts.

Our specific aims were:

1) To quantify how environmental geometric frame and object polarity cues determine human visual orientation, to support engineering and design of spacecraft work areas.

2) To develop reliable means for quantifying head-movement-contingent oscillopsia.

3) To determine whether preflight virtual reality techniques can improve astronaut 3D spatial memory and navigation abilities by reducing direction vertigo, and teaching ISS configuration and emergency egress routes.

4) To improve astronaut teleoperation performance by taking into account the mental object rotation and perspective taking abilities of individuals while training and during operations. By June 2007, we completed all 4 specific aims and all 6 experimental series originally proposed. York studied 1) visual frame and polarity effects in tilted rooms and in an immersive visual virtual environment (IVY), examining the effect of room aspect ratio and observer field of view, 2) the perceptual upright as measured using a new OCHART method ("p" vs. "d" letter recognition) and analyzed results using a linear vector summation model, and 3) quantified oscillopsia during Coriolis stimulation using a new visual feedback technique. The “p/d” method provides us with a way of assessing the perceptual vertical without requiring the subject to make a judgment of tilt with respect to the gravitational vertical – a constraint that has confounded many previous investigations of perceived vertical in ground and 0-g experiments (e.g., Witkin, Mittlestaedt, Howard, Oman). Experiments in IVY, manipulating the floor/ceiling aspect ratio of simple frame interiors, demonstrated that the surface perceived to be "the floor" depends on the aspect ratio in a predictable way that could be mathematically modeled. Several additional experiments were also performed. One showed that the strength of the “levitation” visual reorientation illusion depends on scene content (scene viewed), rather than geometric field of view (view seen). Another showed that the weighting of visual and non-visual cues for orientation was affected by Parkinsonism.

MIT completed a series of 4 "relearning reoriented spacecraft modules" experiments, designed to simulate the training experience of astronauts who learn the interiors of individual spacecraft modules in a locally upright configuration in ground simulators, but who have to make spatial judgments when the modules are assembled in a different “flight” configuration. We showed that subjects remember each module in a visually upright, canonical orientation, and therefore had to make mental rotations in order to inter-relate the two modules. This year MIT tested different “flight” configurations, and found that performance was best when visual verticals were co-aligned, intermediate for 180 deg orientations, and worst when modules were rotated through 90 degrees. Our results account for the visualization difficulties and disorientation previously reported by Apollo, Mir and ISS astronauts when transiting certain areas of their spacecraft. The result could be easily translated into a design standard for space stations and docked vehicle operations. MIT also completed two “ISS emergency egress training” studies of 3D, 6 degree of freedom navigation performance, quantifying the effect of training in a locally vs. globally “upright” configuration, with and without smoke obscuration. Most subjects learned quickly, but performance correlated with individual 3D mental rotation and perspective taking skills. This study, led by Dr. Aoki, won the 2007 Young Investigator award from the Aerospace Medical Association's Space Medicine Branch. This year we also compared performance of subjects trained using with a non-immersive laptop display with a similar sized group tested last year using an immersive display. Although immersive displays better simulate the vestibular and haptic cues required to orient spatially, our subjects performed almost as well using the laptop. Finally, as planned, MIT completed development of a space telerobotic training simulator, and showed that individual mental rotation and persepctive taking abilities influence performance during training.

Results of the York and MIT studies have been presented at several international meetings and full manuscripts have been published or are currently in submission. Dr. Oman also published a review article on visual orientation in microgravity which summarizes our research in a broader context.

 

Research Impact/Earth Benefits: Results support the development of sensorimotor countermeasures for spatial orientation, navigation, and spatial memory difficulties among astronauts, and the design of future vehicles, including the CEV, Lunar Surface Access Module and later the Mars Transit Hab. Results have been published in scientific journals (e.g. ASEM, J. Vestib. Res, Habitation), and will be in the NASA Human Integration Design Handbook. Our results also pertain to human health on Earth, for example: origins and assessment of oscillopsia, and disorientation, spatial memory and navigation problems in vestibular, Alzheimer's and Multiple Sclerosis patients. Our results also pertain to the interior design of buildings to reduce disorientation by providing strong visual cues for orientation in both the vertical (to reduce falls in the elderly on stairs) and gravitational horizontal planes (e.g. the origins of “wrong door” phenomena in buildings and “geographic disorientation” in cities, and among sport orienteers, and in the design of visual cueing systems for civil and military flight simulators). To the extent that disorientation is reduced, motion sickness will also be alleviated.

 

Task Progress: At York, experiments in a tumbled room and in parabolic flight demonstrated that the direction of the perceptual vertical can be reliably assessed (and mathematically modeled) by having subjects distinguish the identity of a character the identity of which depended on its perceived orientation (e.g., “p” vs. “d”), rather than by manually rotating a visual target or manual rod. The latter methods require the subject to make a judgment of the direction of the perceived gravitational vertical – a task that makes little sense in weightlessness. A new "oblique" method for measurement of the subjective vertical was also developed. Results from a second experiment suggest that the strength of the “levitation” visual reorientation illusion depends on scene content (scene viewed), rather than geometric field of view (view seen). Experiments in the York 6-walled immersive virtual environment (IVY) manipulating the floor/ceiling aspect ratio of simple frame interiors demonstrated that the surface perceived as "the floor" depends on aspect ratio in a predictable, quantifiable manner. This year we also began experiments to see if head-movement-contingent instability of the perceived visual world (“oscillopsia” a phenomenon experienced by most returning astronauts) could be quantified using visual feedback techniques. As a surrogate stimulus for an astronaut’s return to Earth’s gravity we used vestibular Coriolis illusions by having normal subjects make out-of-rotation-plane head movements in a rotating chair.

At MIT, our Remote Manipulation Workstation system developed by Dr. Liu was completed, and Alejandra Menchaca-Brandan completed two studies on the influence of perspective-taking and mental rotation abilities on performance during simulated space tele-operation training. Performance was shown to correlate with perspective taking and mental rotation tests. Results formed the basis for a successful NSBRI RFA0701 proposal on teleoperation training. In the area of spatial memory, Claire Cizaire studied of how subjects learn to judge the relative orientation of two docked modules with locally consistent but incongruently aligned interior visual verticals have shown that subjects naturally tend to remember each module in a visually upright orientation. Individual performance was found to correlate with mental rotation and perspective taking skills, and also to depend on relative body orientation, and the relative orientation of the modules. In the area of navigation performance, Dr. Hirofumi Aoki of MIT concluded our studies of 3D, 6 degree of freedom navigation in a simulated ISS emergency egress task. Last year, we studied the effect of training in a locally vs. globally “upright” configuration, with and without smoke obscuration. This year, we prepared results for publication, and also repeated the study with a second group of 36 subjects comparing performance of subjects trained with a non-immersive (laptop) based version of the task.

 

Bibliography Type: Description: (Last Updated: 08/13/2010) Show Cumulative Bibliography Listing
 
Abstracts for Journals and Proceedings Barnett-Cowan M, Sanderson J, Dyde RT, Harris LR. "Assessing the subjective visual vertical and the perceptual upright in Parkinson's disease." 1st Annual General Meeting, Canadian Association for Neuroscience, Toronto, Canada, May, 2007.

1st Annual General Meeting, Canadian Association for Neuroscience, Abstracts, May 2007. , May-2007

Abstracts for Journals and Proceedings Buckland DA, Oman CM, Aoki H. "Alternative training methodologies for spatial orientation in spacecraft." 78th Annual Meeting of the Aerospace Medical Association, New Orleans, LA, May 13-17, 2007.

Aviat Space Environ Med. 2007 Mar;78(3):240. , Mar-2007

Abstracts for Journals and Proceedings Cizaire C, Oman CM, Buckland DA, Natapoff A, Aoki H, Liu A. "Effect of two-module docked spacecraft configurations on spatial orientation." Session OS22, 16th IAA Humans in Space Symposium, Beijing, China, May 20-24, 2007.

Abstract of platform presentation at 16th IAA Humans in Space Symposium, May 2007, OS22-1-HIS07A070. , May-2007

Abstracts for Journals and Proceedings Dyde RT, Jenkin MR, Harris L. "Measuring the perceptual upright while manipulating body orientation, the orientation of the visual background and the direction of gravity." Seventh Symposium on the Role of Vestibular Organs in Space Exploration, ESTEC, Noordwijk, The Netherlands, June 27-30, 2006.

Submitted for publication, June 2006. , Jun-2006

Abstracts for Journals and Proceedings Dyde RT, Jenkin MR, Jenkin H, Zacher J, Harris LR. "The role of visual background orientation on the perceptual upright during microgravity." Vision Sciences Society, Meeting, 2006, Sarasota, FL, May 5-10, 2006.

J Vision. 2006 Jun;6(6):183a. , Jun-2006

Abstracts for Journals and Proceedings Dyde RT, Jenkin MR, Jenkin HL, Zacher JE, Haris LR. "The role of visual background orientation on the perceptual upright during parabolic flight." Seventh Symposium on the Role of Vestibular Organs in Space Exploration, ESTEC, Noordwijk, the Netherlands, June 7-9, 2006.

Submitted for Publication, June 2006. , Jun-2006

Abstracts for Journals and Proceedings Harris L, Dyde R, Jenkin M. "The relative contributions of the visual components of a natural scene in defining the perceptual upright." Vision Sciences Society, Meeting, 2007, Sarasota, FL, May 11-16, 2007.

J Vision. 2007 Jun;7(9):303a. , Jun-2007

Abstracts for Journals and Proceedings Harris LR, Dyde R, Oman CM, Jenkin M. "Visual cues to the direction of the floor." Seventh Symposium on the Role of Vestibular Organs in Space Exploration, ESTEC, Noordwijk, the Netherlands, June 7-9, 2006.

Submitted for Publication, June 2006. , Jun-2006

Abstracts for Journals and Proceedings Harris LR, Dyde RT, Jenkin MR. "The use of visual and non-visual cues in updating the perceived position of the world during translation." SPIE-IS&T Electronic Imaging, San Jose, CA, January 16-20, 2005.

Human Vision and Electronic Imaging X, Proceedings of SPIE-IS&T Electronic Imaging, March 2005. Vol 5666, p. 462-472. http://dx.doi.org/10.1117/12.610858 , Mar-2005

Abstracts for Journals and Proceedings Jenkin HL, Zacher JE, Harris LR. "Does the levitation illusion depend on the view seen or the scene viewed?" Vision Sciences Society, Meeting, 2006, Sarasota, FL, May 5-10, 2006.

J Vision. 2006 Jun;6(6):185a. , Jun-2006

Abstracts for Journals and Proceedings Jenkin, HL, Zacher, JE, Oman CM, Harris LR. "Effect of field of view on visual reorientation illusion: does the levitation illusion depend on the view seen or the scene viewed?" Seventh Symposium on the Role of Vestibular Organs in Space Exploration, ESTEC, Noordwijk, the Netherlands, June 7-9, 2006.

Submitted for publication, June 2006. , Jun-2006

Abstracts for Journals and Proceedings Marquez JJ, Oman CM, Liu AM. "You-Are-Here maps for International Space Station: approach and guidelines." 34th International Conference of Environmental Systems, Colorado Springs, CO, July 1-7, 2004.

Proceedings of 34th International Conference of Environmental Systems, July 2004. 04-ICES-177. , Jul-2004

Abstracts for Journals and Proceedings Oman CM, Benveniste D, Buckland DA, Aoki H, Liu AM, Natapoff A, Kozhevnikov M. "Incongruent spacecraft module visual verticals affect spatial task performance." Seventh Symposium on the Role of Vestibular Organs in Space Exploration, ESTEC, Noordwijk, the Netherlands, June 7-9, 2006.

Submitted for publication, June 2006. , Jun-2006

Abstracts for Journals and Proceedings Oman CM, Benveniste D, Buckland DA, Aoki H, Liu AM, Natapoff A, Kozhevnikov M. "Spacecraft module visual verticals and individual spatial learning abilities determine 3D spatial task performance." 77th Aerospace Medical Association (ASMA) meeting, Orlando, FL, May 15-18, 2006.

Aviat Space Environ Med. 2006 Mar;77(3):349. , Mar-2006

Abstracts for Journals and Proceedings Oman CM, Harris LR, Liu AM, Aoki H. "Visual orientation, navigation, and spatial memory countermeasures." NASA Human Research Program Investigator's Workshop, Houston, TX, February 11-14, 2007.

NASA Human Research Program Investigator's Workshop, Abstracts, 2007. , Feb-2007

Abstracts for Journals and Proceedings Oman CM, Harris LR, Taube JS, Dyde RT, Jenkin HL, Liu AM, Aoki H, Benveniste D, Buckland DA, Natapoff A, Richards J. "Visual orientation, navigation, and spatial memory: mechanisms and countermeasures." Bioastronautics Investigator's Workshop, Houston, TX, January 13-15, 2005.

Proceedings from Bioastronautics Investigator's Workshop, 2005. , Jan-2005

Abstracts for Journals and Proceedings Sanderson J, Oman CM, Harris LR. "Measuring and attenuating head-movement induced oscillopsia." Seventh Symposium on the Role of Vestibular Organs in Space Exploration, ESTEC, Noordwijk, the Netherlands, June 7-9, 2006.

Submitted for publication, June 2006. , Jun-2006

Abstracts for Journals and Proceedings Aoki H, Oman CM, Buckland DA, Natapoff A. "Development of a desktop virtual reality based preflight training system for three-dimensional orientation and navigation." 78th Annual Meeting of the Aerospace Medical Association, New Orleans, LA, May 13-17, 2007.

Aviat Space Environ Med. 2007 Mar;78(3):240. , Mar-2007

Abstracts for Journals and Proceedings Aoki H, Oman CM, Natapoff A, Liu A. "The effect of the configuration, frame of reference, and spatial ability on spatial orientation during virtual 3-dimensional navigation training." Seventh Symposium on the Role of Vestibular Organs in Space Exploration, ESTEC, Noordwijk, the Netherlands, June 7-9, 2006.

Submitted for Publication, June 2006. , Jun-2006

Abstracts for Journals and Proceedings Jenkin H, Barnett-Cowan M, Islam A, Mazour E, Sanderson J, Dyde RT, Jenkin M, Harris LR. "The effect of tilt on the perceptual upright." 30th European Conference on Visual Perception, Arezzo, Italy, August 27-31, 2007.

Perception. 2007;36(Suppl):208. http://www.perceptionweb.com/abstract.cgi?id=v070529 , Aug-2007

Abstracts for Journals and Proceedings Barnett-Cowan M, Thompson C, Sanderson J, Dyde RT, Harris LR. "The subjective visual vertical and the perceptual upright in males and females." 30th European Conference in Visual Perception, Arezzo, Italy, August 27-30, 2007.

Perception. 2007;36(Suppl):206-7. http://www.perceptionweb.com/abstract.cgi?id=v070530 , Aug-2007

Abstracts for Journals and Proceedings Barnett-Cowan M, Harris LR. "Visual and vestibular cues for self-orientation influence oculomotor and perceptual assessments of the internal representation of gravity and body orientation." 7th International Multisensory Research Forum, Dublin, Ireland, June 18-21, 2006.

International Multisensory Research Forum, 7th Annual Meeting, June 2006, Meeting Programme, p. 31. , Jun-2006

Abstracts for Journals and Proceedings Barnett-Cowan M, Sanderson J, Dyde RT, Fox SH, Hutchison WD, Harris LR. "The subjective visual vertical and the perceptual upright in Parkinson's disease." 37th annual meeting of the Society for Neuroscience, San Diego, CA, November 3-7, 2007.

Society for Neuroscience 2007. Abstracts, program/poster # 369.4/R15. , Nov-2007

Abstracts for Journals and Proceedings Barnett-Cowan M, Sanderson J, Dyde RT, Fox SH, Hutchison WD, Harris LR. "The weighting of different sensory cues in determining the subjective visual vertical and the perceptual upright are altered in Parkinson's disease." 37th annual meeting of the Society for Neuroscience, San Diego, CA, November 3-7, 2007.

Society for Neuroscience, Abstracts, November 2007. , Nov-2007

Abstracts for Journals and Proceedings Dyde R, Harris L. "A(nother) new way to measure up: the oblique derived subjective visual vertical." Vision Sciences Society Meeting, 2007, Sarasota, FL, May 11-16, 2007.

J Vision. 2007 Jun;7(9):300a. , Jun-2007

Abstracts for Journals and Proceedings Harris LR, Dyde RT, Jenkin M. "Where's the floor?" Vision Sciences Society Meeting, 2006, Sarasota, FL, May 5-10, 2006.

J Vision. 2006 Jun;6(6):731a. , Jun-2006

Articles in Peer-reviewed Journals Aoki H, Oman CM, Buckland DA, Natapoff A. "Desktop-VR system for preflight 3D navigation training." Acta Astronautica. In Press, Corrected Proof, Available online 21 December 2007. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.actaastro.2007.11.001 , Dec-2007
Articles in Peer-reviewed Journals Jaekl P, Jenkin MR, Harris LR . "Perceiving a stable world during active rotational and translational head movements." Exp Brain Res. 2005 Jun;163(3):388-99. PMID: 15856212 , Jun-2005
Articles in Peer-reviewed Journals Jaekl P, Zikovitz DC, Jenkin MR, Jenkin HL, Zacher JE, Harris LR. "Gravity and perceptual stability during translational head movement on earth and in microgravity." Acta Astronaut. 2005 May-Jun;56(9-12):1033-40. PMID: 15835061 , Jun-2005
Articles in Peer-reviewed Journals Jenkin HL, Dyde RT, Zacher JT, Zikovitz DC, Jenkin MR, Allison RS, Howard IP, Harris LR. "The relative role of visual and non-visual cues in determining the perceived direction of “up“: experiments in parabolic flight." Acta Astronaut. 2005 May-Jun;56(9-12):1025-32. PMID: 15838949 , Jun-2005
Articles in Peer-reviewed Journals Jenkin HL, Jenkin MR, Dyde RT, Harris LR. "Shape-from-shading depends on visual, gravitational, and body-orientation cues." Perception. 2004;33(12):1453-61. PMID: 15729912 , Aug-2004
Articles in Peer-reviewed Journals Mast FW, Oman CM. "Top-down processing and visual reorientation illusions in a virtual reality environment." Swiss Journal of Pyschology. 2004;63(3):143-9. http://dx.doi.org/10.1024/1421-0185.63.3.143 , Aug-2004
Articles in Peer-reviewed Journals Sanderson J, Oman CM, Harris LR. "Measurement of oscillopsia induced by vestibular coriolis stimulation." Journal of Vestibular Research. In press, October 2007. , Oct-2007
Articles in Peer-reviewed Journals Shebilske WL, Tubré T, Tubré AH, Oman CM, Richards JT. "Three-dimensional spatial skill training in a simulated space station: random vs. blocked designs." Aviat Space Environ Med. 2006 Apr;77(4):404-9. PMID: 16676651 , Apr-2006
Articles in Peer-reviewed Journals Aoki H, Oman CM, Natapoff A. "Virtual-reality-Based 3D navigation training for emergency egress from spacecraft." Aviat Space Environ Med. 2007 Aug;78(8):774-83. PMID: 17760285 , Aug-2007
Articles in Peer-reviewed Journals Barnett-Cowan M, Dyde RT, Harris LR. "Is an internal model of head orientation necessary for oculomotor control?" Ann N Y Acad Sci. 2005 Apr;1039:314-24. PMID: 15826985 , Apr-2005
Articles in Peer-reviewed Journals Dyde RT, Jenkin MR, Harris LR. "The subjective visual vertical and the perceptual upright." Exp Brain Res. 2006 Sep;173(4):612-22. PMID: 16550392 , Sep-2006
Awards Aoki H. "2007 Aerospace Medical Association Space Medicine Branch Young Investigator Award, August 2007." Aug-2007
Awards Harris LR. "Dean's Award for Research Excellence. York University, Faculty of Arts, Summer 2006." Jun-2006
Books/Book Chapters Oman CM. "Spatial orientation and navigation in microgravity." in "Spatial processing in navigation, imagery and perception." Ed. F. Mast, L. Jancke. New York : Springer, 2007, p. 209-247., Jul-2007
Dissertations and Theses Benveniste D. "Cognitive conflict in learning three-dimensional space station structures." Master's Thesis, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, September 2004. , Sep-2004
Dissertations and Theses Brandan MAM. "Influence of spatial orientation and spatial visualization on space teleoperation performance." Dissertation, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, May 2007. , May-2007
Dissertations and Theses Buckland DA. "A training methodology for spatial orientation in spacecraft." Master's Thesis, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, September 2006. , Sep-2006
Dissertations and Theses Cizaire C. "Effect of two-module-docked spacecraft configurations on spatial orientation." Master's Thesis, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, February 2007. , Feb-2007
Dissertations and Theses Jaekl P. "Perceptual stability during active head movement." Master's Thesis, York University, March 2004. , Mar-2004
Dissertations and Theses Zikovitz D. "The perception of linear self motion in response to combinations of visual and physical motion cues." Dissertation, York University, June 2004. , Jun-2004
Papers from Meeting Proceedings Aoki H, Oman CM, Buckland DA, Natapoff A. "Desktop VR system for preflight 3D navigation training." 16th IAA Humans in Space Symposium, Beijing, China, May 20-24, 2007.

Paper, 16th IAA Humans in Space Symposium, 2007. , May-2007

Papers from Meeting Proceedings Jenkin HL, Dyde RT, Jenkin MJ, Harris LR . "Pitching up in VR." International Conference on Artificial Reality and Telexistence ICAT 2004, November 30-December 4, 2004, presentation S10-3.

Proceedings from the International Conference in Augmented Reality and Tele-existence (ICAT), presentation S10-3, 2004. , Nov-2004

Papers from Meeting Proceedings Menchaca-Brandan MA, Liu AM, Oman CM, Natapoff A. "Influence of perspective-taking and mental rotation abilities in space teleoperation." ACM/IEEE International Conference on Human-Robot Interaction, Washington DC, March 9-11, 2007.

Paper, ACM/IEEE International Conference on Human-Robot Interaction, 2007. , Mar-2007

 
Fiscal Year: FY 2006  Task Last Updated:  01/08/2007 
PI Name: Oman, Charles M. 
Project Title: Visual Orientation, Navigation, and Spatial Memory Countermeasures 
   
Division Name: Human Research 
Program/Discipline: NSBRI Teams 
Element/Subdiscipline: Sensorimotor Adaptation Team 
Joint Agency Name:  
Human Research Program Elements: None
Human Research Program Risks:: None
Human Research Program Gaps: None
PI Email: coman@mit.edu  Fax:  617-258-8111 
PI Organization Type: UNIVERSITY  Phone: 617-253-7508  
Organization Name: Massachusetts Institute of Technology 
PI Address 1: Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics 
PI Address 2: 77 Massachusetts Avenue 
PI Web Page:  
City: Cambridge  State: MA 
Zip Code: 02139-4301  Congressional District:  8 
Comments:  
Project Type: GROUND  Solicitation:  2003 Biomedical Research & Countermeasures 03-OBPR-04 
Start Date: 03/01/2004  End Date:  02/28/2007 
No. of Post Docs: 4  No. of PhD Degrees:  1 
No. of PhD Candidates: 1  No. of Master' Degrees:  8 
No. of Master's Candidates: 6  No. of Bachelor's Degrees:  7 
No. of Bachelor's Candidates: 5  Monitoring Center:  NSBRI 
Contact Monitor:   Contact Phone:   
Contact Email:  
Flight Program:  
Flight Assignment:

 

Key Personnel Changes/Previous PI:  
COI Name (Institution): Harris, Laurence  ( York University )
Liu, Andrew  ( Massachusetts Institute of Technology )
Jenkin, Michael  ( York University )
Aoki, Hirofumi  ( Massachusetts Institute of Technology ) 
Grant/Contract No.: NCC 9-58-NA00402 
Performance Goal No.:  
Performance Goal Text:

 

Task Description: How should spacecraft designers configure interior architectural features, work areas, and the relative orientations of adjacent or docked spacecraft modules to minimize spatial disorientation and navigation problems in 0-g ? Current standards (e.g. NASA Standard 3000) offer little guidance. Can virtual reality (VR) training techniques – which astronauts currently use to plan their spacewalks - also be used to reduce the incidence of visual reorientation and inversion illusions while working inside the spacecraft? If so the incidence of space sickness should be reduced, and crews will be less disoriented when transiting modules with differently oriented visual verticals. Is a fully immersive VR system needed for such training, or could simpler, portable training systems be used? Can individual performance on operationally relevant 3D orientation, navigation, and teleoperation tasks be predicted based on simple tests of individual mental rotation and perspective taking skills? What is the best way to assess and control the direction of the perceptual vertical in an environment where there is no gravitational “down”? Can head movement contingent instability of the perceived visual world (“oscillopsia”), experienced by most returning astronauts, be quantified using visual feedback techniques? Answers can be directly applied to the design of the NASA CEV, Lunar Surface Access Module and eventually the Mars Transfer Hab interiors, to the physical arrangement of ground simulators and to the development of VR based techniques for preflight orientation and navigation training for astronauts.

The goal of this multi-institutional neurovestibular project is to develop four types of design, assessment, training, and procedural countermeasures: a) Evidence-based spacecraft architecture and work area design standards. b) Methods for quantitative assessment of inflight and postflight oscillopsia. c) Preflight visual orientation training techniques to reduce disorientation and improve inflight emergency egress. d) Teleoperation procedure and training improvements based on crewmember spatial skills.

Our specific aims are: 1) To quantify how environmental geometric frame and object polarity cues determine human visual orientation, to support engineering and design of spacecraft work areas. 2) To develop reliable means for quantifying head-movement-contingent oscillopsia. 3) To determine whether preflight virtual reality techniques can improve astronaut 3D spatial memory and navigation abilities by reducing direction vertigo, and teaching ISS configuration and emergency egress routes. 4) To improve astronaut teleoperation performance by taking into account the mental object rotation and perspective taking abilities of individuals while training and during operations.

Inflight spatial disorientation, spatial memory, navigation and teleoperation problems, and oscillopsia during re-entry and after landing have been identified as neurovestibular risks by Shuttle, Mir and ISS astronauts, NASA’s Critical Path Roadmap, the Neurovestibular Adaptation Team Strategic Plan, and a National Academy of Sciences committee report. NRA 03-OBPR-04 solicits research to determine what spacecraft architectures, interior visual cues, and preflight orientation training techniques will minimize inflight disorientation.

The project utilizes the unique virtual reality research capabilities at York and MIT. Six sets of experiments are being conducted: 1) Measuring the effect of environmental geometry (frame) cues using psychophysical techniques (York). 2) Assessing the influence of polarized objects on self-orientation perception using psychophysical judgments (York). 3) Assessing the extent and pattern of head-contingent oscillopsia and visual motion (York). 4) Effect of training module orientation on inflight direction vertigo (MIT). 5) Influence of relative body orientation in preflight visual orientation and egress training (MIT). 6) Correlation of spatial abilities with simulated space station remote manipulator training performance(MIT).

 

Research Impact/Earth Benefits: Results support the development of neurovestibular countermeasures for spatial orientation, navigation, and spatial memory difficulties among astronauts, and the design of future vehicles, including the CEV, Lunar Surface Access Module and later the Mars Transit Hab. Our results also pertain to human health on Earth, for example: origins and assessment of oscillopsia, and disorientation, spatial memory and navigation problems in vestibular, Alzheimer's and Multiple Sclerosis patients. Our results also pertain to the interior design of buildings to reduce disorientation by providing strong visual cues for orientation in both the vertical (to reduce falls in the elderly on stairs) and gravitational horizontal planes (e.g. the origins of “wrong door” phenomena in buildings and “geographic disorientation” in cities, and among sport orienteers, and in the design of visual cueing systems for civil and military flight simulators). To the extent that disorientation is reduced, motion sickness will also be alleviated.

 

Task Progress: At York, experiments in a tumbled room and in parabolic flight demonstrated that the direction of the perceptual vertical can be reliably assessed (and mathematically modeled) by having subjects distinguish the identity of an orientationally ambiguous character (e.g. “p” vs. “d”), rather than by manually rotating a visual target or manual rod, since the latter two methods require the subject to make a judgment of the direction of the perceived gravitational vertical – something that many cannot do in weightlessness. Results from a second experiment suggest that the strength of the “levitation” visual reorientation illusion depends on scene content (scene viewed), rather than geometric field of view (view seen). Experiments in the York 6-walled immersive virtual environment (IVY) manipulating the floor/ceiling aspect ratio of simple frame cue interiors demonstrate that the surface perceived to be "the floor" depends on aspect ratio in a predictable, quantifiable manner. This year we also began experiments to see if head movement contingent instability of the perceived visual world (“oscillopsia”) experienced by most returning astronauts could be quantified using visual feedback techniques. As a surrogate stimulus for an astronaut’s return to Earth’s gravity we are using vestibular coriolis illusions produced when our normal subjects make out-of-rotation-plane head movements in a rotating chair.

At MIT, our studies of how subjects learn to judge the relative orientation of two docked modules with locally consistent but incongruently aligned interior visual verticals have shown that subjects naturally tend to remember each module in a visually upright orientation. Individual performance correlates with mental rotation and perspective taking skills, and also depends on relative body orientation, and the relative orientation of the modules. Pilot tests suggest that it is the number of successive mental rotations required about principal environmental axes that determines orientation difficulty, and may explain the docked module visualization difficulties previously reported by Apollo, Mir and ISS astronauts. This year we also developed an immersive VR 3D navigation simulation based on an ISS emergency egress task, and have studied the effect of training in a locally vs globally “upright” configuration, with and without smoke obscuration. Most subjects learn quickly, but performance correlated with individual 3D spatial skills. We are currently comparing performance of subjects trained with a non-immersive (laptop) based version of the task. If subjects can learn the 3D station configuration using a simple laptop based training technique, it will greatly facilitate configuration refresher training both at home and onboard the spacecraft.

 

Bibliography Type: Description: (Last Updated: 08/13/2010) Show Cumulative Bibliography Listing
 
Abstracts for Journals and Proceedings Harris, L R, Dyde, R, Oman, C M and Jenkin M. "Visual cues to the direction of the floor." ESTEC Noordwijk, The Netherlands,2006 June.

. Submitted for Publication, 2006 June;. , Jun-2006

Abstracts for Journals and Proceedings Jenkin, H L, Zacher, J E Oman, C M and Harris, L R. "Effect of field of view on visual reorientation illusion: does the levitation illusion depend on the view seen or the scene viewed ?." . Submitted for Publication. , Jan-2006
Abstracts for Journals and Proceedings Marquez JJ, Oman CM, Liu AM. "You-Are-Here Maps for International Space Station: Approach and Guidelines." 34th International Conference of Environmental Systems, Colorado Springs, CO, July 2004,

Proc of the 34th International Conference of Environmental Systems. 2004 July;1-7. , Jul-2004

Abstracts for Journals and Proceedings Oman, C M, Benveniste, D, Buckland, D A, Aoki, H, Liu, A M, Natapoff, A, and Kozhevnikov, M. "Incongruent Spacecraft Module Visual Verticals Affect Spatial Task Performance." ESTEC Noordwijk, The Netherlands,2006 June.

. Submitted for Publication, 2006 June;. , Jun-2006

Abstracts for Journals and Proceedings Oman CM, Benveniste D, Buckland DA, Aoki H, Liu AM, Natapoff A, Kozhevnikov M. "Spacecraft Module Visual Verticals and Individual Abilities Determine 3D Spatial Task Performance." 77th Annual Meeting of the Aerospace Medical Association, Orlando, FL, May 14-18, 2006.

Aviat Space Env Med. 2006 Mar;77(3):349. , Mar-2006

Abstracts for Journals and Proceedings Oman C M, Harris LR, Taube JS, Dyde RT, Jenkin HL, Liu AM, Aoki H, Benveniste D, Buckland D, Natapoff A, Richards J. "Visual orientation, navigation, and spatial memory: mechanisms and countermeasures." Bioastronautics Investigator's Workshop, Houston, TX, January 2005.

Proceedings Bioastronautics Investigator's Workshop, 2005 January. , Jan-2005

Abstracts for Journals and Proceedings Sanderson, J, Oman, C M, and Harris L R. "Measuring and attenuating head-movement induced oscillopsia." ESTEC Noordwijk, The Netherlands,2006 June.

. Submitted for Publication, 2006 June;. , Jun-2006

Abstracts for Journals and Proceedings Aoki, H, Oman, C M, Natapoff, A and Liu, A. "The effect of the configuration, frame of reference, and spatial ability on spatial orientation during virtual 3-dimentional navigation training." ESTEC Noordwijk, The Netherlands,2006 June.

. Submitted for Publication, 2006 June;. , Jun-2006

Abstracts for Journals and Proceedings Dyde, R T, Jenkin, M R, and Harris, L. "Measuring the perceptual upright while manipulating body orientation, the orientation of the visual background and the direction of gravity." ESTEC, Noordwijk, the Netherlands.

. Submitted for Publication. , Jan-2006

Abstracts for Journals and Proceedings Dyde, R T, Jenkin, M R, Jenkin H L, Zacher J E and Haris L R. "The role of visual background orientation on the perceptual upright during parabolic flight." ESTEC, Noordwijk, the Netherlands,2006 June.

. Submitted for Publication, 2006 June;. , Jun-2006

Articles in Peer-reviewed Journals Oman, C. M. "Visual orientation and navigation in microgravity" Jan-2006
Articles in Peer-reviewed Journals Jenkin HL, Jenkin MR, Dyde RT, Harris LR. "Shape-from-shading depends on visual, gravitational, and body-orientation cues." Perception. 2004;33(12):1453-61. PMID: 15729912 , Jan-2004
Articles in Peer-reviewed Journals Mast FW, Oman CM. "Top-down processing and visual reorientation illusions in a virtual reality environment. " Swiss Journal of Pyschology. 2004;63(3):143-9. http://dx.doi.org/10.1024/1421-0185.63.3.143 , Jul-2004
Articles in Peer-reviewed Journals Jenkin HL, Dyde RT, Zacher JT, Zikovitz DC, Jenkin MR, Allison RS, Howard IP, Harris LR "The relative role of visual and non-visual cues in determining the perceived direction of “up“: experiments in parabolic flight." Acta Astronaut. 2005 May-Jun;56(9-12):1025-32. PMID: 15838949 , May-2005
Articles in Peer-reviewed Journals Barnett-Cowan M, Dyde RT, Harris LR . "Is an internal model of head orientation necessary for oculomotor control?" Ann N Y Acad Sci. 2005 Apr;1039:314-24. PMID: 15826985 , Apr-2005
Articles in Peer-reviewed Journals Dyde RT, Jenkin MR, Harris LR. "The subjective visual vertical and the perceptual upright." Exp Brain Res. 2006 Sep;173(4):612-22. Epub 2006 Mar 21. PMID: 16550392 , Sep-2006
Articles in Peer-reviewed Journals Jaekl P, Jenkin MR, Harris LR . "Perceiving a stable world during active rotational and translational head movements." Exp Brain Res. 2005 Jun;163(3):388-99. PMID: 15856212 , Jun-2005
Articles in Peer-reviewed Journals Jaekl P, Zikovitz DC, Jenkin MR, Jenkin HL, Zacher JE, Harris LR. "Gravity and perceptual stability during translational head movement on earth and in microgravity." Acta Astronaut. 2005 May-Jun;56(9-12):1033-40. PMID: 15835061 , May-2005
Awards Aoki H. "NSBRI Postdoctoral Fellowship to Hirofumi Aoki. October 2005." Oct-2005
Papers from Meeting Proceedings Harris LR, Dyde RT, Jenkin MR. "The use of visual and non-visual cues of in updating the perceived position of the world during translation." Human Vision and Electronic Imaging X, 2005.

Proceedings of SPIE Volume: 5666:462-472, March 2005. ISBN: 9780819456397 , Mar-2005

Papers from Meeting Proceedings Jenkin HL, Dyde RT, Jenkin MJ, Harris LR. "Pitching up in VR." International Conference on Artificial Reality and Telexistence ICAT 2004, Seoul, Korea, November 30-December 4, 2004.

International Conference on Artificial Reality and Telexistence ICAT 2004, November 30-December 4, 2004, presentation S10-3. , Nov-2004

 
Fiscal Year: FY 2005  Task Last Updated:  06/22/2005 
PI Name: Oman, Charles M. 
Project Title: Visual Orientation, Navigation, and Spatial Memory Countermeasures 
   
Division Name: Human Research 
Program/Discipline: NSBRI Teams 
Element/Subdiscipline: Sensorimotor Adaptation Team 
Joint Agency Name:  
Human Research Program Elements: None
Human Research Program Risks:: None
Human Research Program Gaps: None
PI Email: coman@mit.edu  Fax:  617-258-8111 
PI Organization Type: UNIVERSITY  Phone: 617-253-7508  
Organization Name: Massachusetts Institute of Technology 
PI Address 1: Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics 
PI Address 2: 77 Massachusetts Avenue 
PI Web Page:  
City: Cambridge  State: MA 
Zip Code: 02139-4301  Congressional District:  8 
Comments:  
Project Type: GROUND  Solicitation:  2003 Biomedical Research & Countermeasures 03-OBPR-04 
Start Date: 03/01/2004  End Date:  02/28/2007 
No. of Post Docs: 1  No. of PhD Degrees:  1 
No. of PhD Candidates: 2  No. of Master' Degrees:  0 
No. of Master's Candidates: 0  No. of Bachelor's Degrees:  1 
No. of Bachelor's Candidates: 5  Monitoring Center:  NSBRI 
Contact Monitor:   Contact Phone:   
Contact Email:  
Flight Program:  
Flight Assignment:

 

Key Personnel Changes/Previous PI:  
COI Name (Institution): Harris, Laurence  ( York University )
Liu, Andrew  ( Massachusetts Institute of Technology )
Jenkin, Michael  ( York University )
Aoki, Hirofumi  ( Massachusetts Institute of Technology ) 
Grant/Contract No.: NCC 9-58-NA00402 
Performance Goal No.:  
Performance Goal Text:

 

Task Description: The goal of this multi-institutional neurovestibular project is to develop four types of design, assessment, training, and procedural countermeasures: a) Evidence based spacecraft architecture and work area design standards. b) Methods for quantitative assessment of in flight and postflight oscillopsia. c) Preflight visual orientation training techniques to reduce disorientation and improve in flight emergency egress. d) Teleoperation procedure and training improvements based on crewmember spatial skills.

Our goals are: 1) To quantify how environmental geometric “frame” and object “polarity” cues determine human visual orientation, to support engineering of spacecraft and work areas. 2) To develop reliable means for quantifying head-movement-contingent oscillopsia. 3 To determine whether preflight virtual reality techniques can improve astronaut 3D spatial memory and navigation abilities by reducing “direction vertigo”, and teaching ISS configuration and emergency egress routes. 4) To improve astronaut teleoperation performance by taking into account the mental object rotation and “perspective taking” abilities of individuals while training and during operations.

Inflight spatial disorientation, spatial memory, navigation and teleoperation problems, and oscillopsia during re-entry and after landing have been identified as neurovestibular risks by Shuttle, Mir and ISS astronauts, NASA’s Critical Path Roadmap, the Neurovestibular Adaptation Team Strategic Plan, and a National Academy of Sciences committee report. NRA 03-OBPR-04 solicits research to determine what spacecraft architectures, interior visual cues, and preflight orientation training techniques will minimize inflight disorientation.

The project utilizes the unique virtual reality research capabilities at York and MIT. Six sets of experiments and extensions are proposed: 1) Measuring the effect of environmental geometry (“frame”) cues using psychophysical techniques (York). 2) Assessing the influence of polarized objects on self-orientation perception using psychophysical judgments (York). 3) Assessing the extent and pattern of head-contingent oscillopsia and visual motion (York). 4) Effect of training module orientation on inflight direction vertigo (MIT). 5) Influence of relative body orientation in preflight visual orientation and egress training (MIT). 6) Correlation of spatial abilities with simulated space station remote manipulator training performance(MIT).

 

Research Impact/Earth Benefits: Results support the development of neurovestibular countermeasures for spatial orientation, navigation, and spatial memory difficulties among astronauts, and the design of future vehicles, including the CEV and Mars Transit Hab. Our results also pertain to human health on Earth, for example: origins and assessment of oscillopsia, and disorientation, spatial memory and navigation problems in vestibular, Alzheimer's and MS patients. Our results also pertain to the interior design of buildings to reduce disorientation by providing strong visual cues for orientation in both the vertical (to reduce falls in the elderly on stairs) and gravitational horizontal planes (e.g. the origins of “wrong door” phenomena in buildings and “geographic disorientation” in cities, and among sport orienteers, and in the design of visual cueing systems for civil and military flight simulators). To the extent that disorientation is reduced, motion sickness will also be alleviated.

 

Task Progress: 1) Previously, our principal research tools for studying frame and polarity effects were physical tumbling rooms. This year our 6 walled immersive IVY environment has become available. Our principal methods for assessment of the vertical included use of a tactile rod, or judging/adjusting the convexity of a shaded disc. This year we developed a new method, an Oriented Character Recognition Task (OCHART) involving the identification of a character whose identity is orientation defined (e.g. the letters “p” vs. “d”). Results (Vis. Sci. Soc. 2004) cross validate well with our other methods. For environmental manipulations in pitch, we evaluated having the subject set the orientation of a long virtual polygon (“virtual plank”). Comparing “up” judgments in roll using the IVY and the virtual plank vs in pitch using the physical room and the shaded disk method gave similar results. Using our previously published vector linear summation model (e.g. Jenkin Perception 2004), the plank method yielded a visual scene weighting coefficient of 37% of body+gravity in pitch, as compared to 45% using the shaded disk in roll in a physical environment. York is performing pilot experiments to study the effects of observer field-of-view, body orientation in pitch, number of polarized objects, and environmental aspect ratio. 2) Head movement contingent oscillopsia is commonly reported by astronauts during entry, landing, and for several days postflight, but methods for directly quantifying it have been lacking. Using VR techniques, we previously developed a technique (e.g. Jaekl JVR 2003) where the subject wearing a head mounted display adjust the gain of virtual scene motion during normal active movements until the scene appears stable. Normally subjects set visual gains somewhat greater than unity. York is extending this work to oscillopsia induced by Coriolis head movements in a rotating environment, and is constructing a display screen and head tracker mounted on a rotating chair. 3) Astronauts train in ground simulators, but physical constraints force the configuration of modules on the ground to be different from in flight. This year MIT conducted two experiments to see how survey knowledge of the interior of two virtual space station modules became impaired if the orientation of one of the modules was changed after training. Preliminary results were presented at the 2004 Barany meeting. 4) MIT constructed an immersive VR simulation of a space station interior, and is currently studying the influence of relative body orientation in a preflight visual orientation and egress training paradigm. The technique could 5) MIT initiated development of a robotic workstation simulator for Year 2 research, utilizing VRML ISS models as the virtual workspace, and software to present three or more workspace views and to compute robot inverse kinematics. We are evaluating alternative computer based tests of

 

Bibliography Type: Description: (Last Updated: 08/13/2010) Show Cumulative Bibliography Listing
 
Articles in Peer-reviewed Journals Jenkin HL, Jenkin MR, Dyde RT, Harris LR. "Shape-from-shading depends on visual, gravitational, and body-orientation cues. " Perception. 2004;33(12):1453-61. PMID: 15729912 , Jul-2004
Articles in Peer-reviewed Journals Mast FW, Oman CM. "Top-down processing and visual reorientation illusions in a virtual reality environment. " Swiss Journal of Pyschology. 2004;63(3):143-9. http://dx.doi.org/10.1024/1421-0185.63.3.143 , Jul-2004
Articles in Peer-reviewed Journals Nguyen VA, Howard IP, Cheung B. "Perception of the horizontal during roll rotation of self or scene. " Exp Brain Res, submitted January 2005. , Jan-2005
Articles in Peer-reviewed Journals Barnett-Cowan M, Dyde RT, Harris LR. "Is an internal model of head orientation necessary for oculomotor control? " Ann N Y Acad Sci. 2005 Apr;1039:314-24. PMID: 15826985 , Apr-2005
Articles in Peer-reviewed Journals Jaekl P, Jenkin MR, Harris LR. "Perceiving a stable world during active rotational and translational head movements." Exp Brain Res. 2005 Jun;163(3):388-99. PMID: 15856212 , Jun-2005
Awards Oman C. " International Academy of Astronautics, Corresponding Member - Oman, January 2005." Jan-2005
Awards Oman CM. " NSBRI Neurovestibular team leader - CM Oman. January 2005." Jan-2005
Dissertations and Theses Benveniste D. "Cognitive Conflict in Learning Three-Dimensional Space Station Structures." Massachusetts Institute of Technology, September 2004. , Sep-2004
Dissertations and Theses Benvensite D. "Cognitive conflict in learning three-dimensional space station structures." SM Thesis, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 1-128, September 2004. , Sep-2004
Dissertations and Theses Jaekl P. "Perceptual stability during active head movement." MA Thesis, York University Department of Psychology, March 2004. , Mar-2004
Dissertations and Theses Zikovitz D. "The perception of linear self motion in response to combinations of visual and physical motion cues. " PhD Thesis, York University Department of Psychology, June 2004. , Jun-2004
Papers from Meeting Proceedings Jenkin HL, Dyde RT, Jenkin MJ, Harris LR. "Pitching up in VR. " International Conference on Artificial Reality and Telexistence ICAT 2004, Seoul, Korea, November 30-December 4, 2004.

International Conference on Artificial Reality and Telexistence ICAT 2004, November 30-December 4, 2004, presentation S10-3. , Nov-2004

Presentation Dyde RT, Sadr S, Jenkin M, Jenkin HL, Harris LR "The perceived direction of up measured using a p/d letter probe. " May-2004
Presentation Harris LR, Dyde RT, Sadr S, Jenkin M, Jenkin HL "Cross-modal contributions to perceived direction of up " Jun-2004
Presentation Oman, C. "Neurovestibular Risks of Spaceflight and NSBRI Countermeasure Resarch " Jul-2004
Presentation Harris LR, Jenkin MR, Dyde RT, Jenkin HL "Failure to update spatial location correctly using visual cues alone. " May-2004
Presentation Jaekl PM, Harris LR "Perceptual stability as a cross-modal comparison. " Jun-2004
Presentation Jenkin HL, Dyde RT, Jenkin MR, Harris LR "The perceived direction of up measured using shape-from-shading in a virtual environment. " May-2004
Presentation Jenkin HL, Dyde RT, Jenkin MJ, Harris LR "Pitching up in VR. " Jul-2004
Presentation Liu, A. M. "A funny thing happened to me on the way to Mars... " Jul-2004
Presentation Liu, A. M. "The Role of Visual Orientation and Spatial Ability in Microgravity Operations and Training " Nov-2004
 
Fiscal Year: FY 2004  Task Last Updated:  03/31/2006 
PI Name: Oman, Charles M. 
Project Title: Visual Orientation, Navigation, and Spatial Memory Countermeasures 
   
Division Name: Human Research 
Program/Discipline: NSBRI Teams 
Element/Subdiscipline: Neurovestibular Adaptation Team 
Joint Agency Name:  
Human Research Program Elements: None
Human Research Program Risks:: None
Human Research Program Gaps: None
PI Email: coman@mit.edu  Fax:  617-258-8111 
PI Organization Type: UNIVERSITY  Phone: 617-253-7508  
Organization Name: Massachusetts Institute of Technology 
PI Address 1: Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics 
PI Address 2: 77 Massachusetts Avenue 
PI Web Page:  
City: Cambridge  State: MA 
Zip Code: 02139-4301  Congressional District:  8 
Comments:  
Project Type: GROUND  Solicitation:  2003 Biomedical Research & Countermeasures 03-OBPR-04 
Start Date: 03/01/2004  End Date:  02/28/2007 
No. of Post Docs: 3  No. of PhD Degrees:   
No. of PhD Candidates: 3  No. of Master' Degrees:   
No. of Master's Candidates: 6  No. of Bachelor's Degrees:   
No. of Bachelor's Candidates: 4  Monitoring Center:  NSBRI 
Contact Monitor:   Contact Phone:   
Contact Email:  
Flight Program:  
Flight Assignment:

 

Key Personnel Changes/Previous PI:  
COI Name (Institution): Howard, Ian  ( York University )
Shebilske, Wayne  ( Wright State University )
S., Jeffrey  ( Dartmouth College )
C., Andrew  ( University of California )
Bock, Otmar  ( German Sport University )
Harris, Laurence  ( York University )
Jenkin, Michael  ( York University )
M., Andrew  ( Massachusetts Instiute of Technology )
Wolfgang, Stuerzlinger  ( York University ) 
Grant/Contract No.: NCC 9-58-NA00402 
Performance Goal No.:  
Performance Goal Text:

 

Task Description: The goal of this collaborative neurovestibular project is to develop four types of design, assessment, training, and procedural countermeasures: a) Evidence based spacecraft architecture and work area design standards. b) Methods for quantitative assessment of in flight and postflight oscillopsia. c) Preflight visual orientation training techniques to reduce disorientation and improve in flight emergency egress. d) Teleoperation procedure and training improvements based on crewmember spatial skills. The specific aims are: 1) To quantify how environmental geometric “frame” and object “polarity” cues determine human visual orientation, to support engineering of spacecraft and work areas. 2) To develop reliable means for quantifying head-movement-contingent oscillopsia. 3 To determine whether preflight virtual reality techniques can improve astronaut 3D spatial memory and navigation abilities by reducing “direction vertigo”, and teaching ISS configuration and emergency egress routes. 4) To improve astronaut teleoperation performance by taking into account the mental object rotation and “perspective taking” abilities of individuals while training and during operations. Inflight spatial disorientation, spatial memory, navigation and teleoperation problems, and oscillopsia during re-entry and after landing have been identified as neurovestibular risks by Shuttle, Mir and ISS astronauts, NASA’s Critical Path Roadmap, the Neurovestibular Adaptation Team Strategic Plan, and a National Academy of Sciences committee report. NRA 03-OBPR-04 solicits research to determine what spacecraft architectures, interior visual cues, and preflight orientation training techniques will minimize inflight disorientation. The project utilizes the unique virtual reality research capabilities at York and MIT. Six sets of experiments and extensions are proposed: 1) Measuring the effect of environmental geometry (“frame”) cues using psychophysical techniques (York). 2) Assessing the influence of polarized objects on self-orientation perception using psychophysical judgments (York). 3) Assessing the extent and pattern of head-contingent oscillopsia and visual motion (York). 4) Effect of training module orientation on inflight direction vertigo (MIT). 5) Influence of relative body orientation in preflight visual orientation and egress training (MIT). 6) Correlation of spatial abilities with simulated space station remote manipulator training performance(MIT).

 

Research Impact/Earth Benefits:

 

Task Progress: New project for FY2004. No progress report this period.

 

Bibliography Type: Description: (Last Updated: 08/13/2010) Show Cumulative Bibliography Listing
 
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